Celebrating our “Wonder Women”

Published March 24, 2020

As we celebrate Women’s History month, we congratulate all RTC women in law enforcement and all female officers out there. We strongly applaud your dedication, courage and commitment to making a difference in the world. You are an inspiration to other women seeking a new career challenge. To our wonder women in law enforcement, we say be bold! be brave! and keep shining!  Join us as we share successes achieved by some of our female Ghanaian alumni who have demonstrated strength and good leadership in safeguarding our communities while applying the knowledge obtained at the RTC. Enjoy the read!

Alumna from Ghana Police Service

Community Policing Course

I am the leader for the Community Outreach Team at the Community Policing Unit of the Ghana Police Service. After attending the community policing course at the RTC, I immediately put what was learned to use. After the course, we submitted a report to the Director of the Community Policing Unit suggesting that community policing concepts learned at the RTC such as accountability, problem solving and partnership with the community be incorporated in the Police training schools/ academy syllabus. With approval from our leadership, we organized a training program for the officers of the community policing unit on the best practices for understanding, developing, implementing and sustaining of community policing programs. The training was very impactful and made the work very effective. We organized and participated in various activities such as: School educational programs, Market programs, Visitation to lorry parks, Residence association meetings, Ghetto visitation and Visit to slum areas etc. The goal was to deter crime, enhance community partnership and build public trust. Heads of schools we visited appreciated our outstanding performance and later invited us to participate in their Parent-Teacher Association Meetings where we sensitized parents and teachers on security issues. Our frequent visit to a ghetto occupied by drug addicts lead to a 17 year old boy giving up on drugs and now is at a rehabilitation facility undergoing treatment. Our constant visit to the slum areas made people volunteer information on children who were exposed to harm and child abuse issues. In one instance, a 9-year-old girl who was always abused by her alcoholic father was rescued by our team and handed over to the Domestic Violence and Victim Support. Our interactions with stakeholders in the communities on the importance of proactive measures to prevent crime has led to the formation of Neighborhood Watch Committees in several communities in and outside Accra. I owe this success to the RTC.

Alumna from Ghana Forestry Commission -Wildlife Division

Wildlife Border Inspection Course

In 2018, 1 was promoted to the rank of a Wildlife Manager stationed at the Kotoka International Airport. After my first course on Border Interdiction in 2014, I was glad to return to the RTC to be part of 2019 Wildlife Border Inspection Course.  Prior to the wildlife course, I had the opportunity to be nominated to have my master’s degree in CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) in Spain, where I did a research on “Assessing the Level of Awareness of Relevant CITES Stakeholders in Ghana”. Results from my findings made me realize that all CITES stakeholders needed training. In October 2019, I organized a two-day workshop on CITES for my staff from the wildlife division, officers from customs and police, wildlife exporters and agents, Accra zoo staff, as well as colleagues from the veterinary division of the airport. These stakeholders were trained on CITES awareness, species identification, basic wildlife laws and the use of modern tools like the “Wild Scan” application wildlife to identify wildlife. My resource persons who are colleagues provided an overview of global wildlife trade and challenges, Ghana’s wildlife laws, and the role of law enforcement authorities in implementing wildlife trade laws according to the CITES standards. Issues of wildlife trafficking are huge. Most officers are not aware of the standards for wildlife trade regulations. Passing down knowledge acquired helped change their perceptions and got them informed of the realities on the ground and the need to combat wildlife trafficking.

Alumna from the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI)

Anti-Corruption Course

My major takeaway from the Anti-corruption course was intelligence gathering and interagency collaboration which has helped me in my work as a law enforcement officer. In the first quarter of 2019, 2 Canadian girls came to Kumasi for an internship program at Kumasi Technical University. In June 2019, the two girls were abducted in Kumasi while returning to their hostel. I was part of the team that investigated this case. A surveillance team was sent out to do an initial check with technical support from BNI head office in Accra. Intelligence gathered was that the victims and suspects were still in Kumasi. We retrieved the CCTV footage and tracked the vehicle that was used to kidnap the girls. With support from Ghana Police Service and National Security, we formed a task force to investigate and rescue the girls. Our combined collaborative efforts and expertise further enhanced investigations and led us to rescue the victims. In less than 2 weeks after they were kidnapped, we identified the holding place of the two victims and conducted a rescue operation on the morning of Wednesday, June 12, 2019. There were more than 4 suspects arrested with a Nigerian being the lead suspect. After the arrest, the suspects were brought to Accra and arraigned before the court.  The Victims were screened and taken to the Canadian embassy in preparation for travel back home. This is a success story for the entire nation and I owe this success to the RTC.

Alumna from the Attorney General’s Office

Anti-Corruption for Judges and Prosecutors course

I had the opportunity to assist a senior State Attorney in drafting witness statements for child victims of human trafficking.  In drafting these statements, I realized that the children did not see themselves as victims. However, with the knowledge that they were being exploited by the parents/guardians and employer, I was able to draft the statement to bring out the essential ingredients of child labor/trafficking.  I look forward to offering more assistance and applying my learning and eventually prosecuting human trafficking cases assigned to me as I am in the anti-human trafficking group as well.

Alumna from the Judicial Service of Ghana

Anti-Corruption for Judges and Prosecutors course

My knowledge gained from the Adjudicating Child Trafficking course here at the RTC made me carefully study the cases presented before me to ensure there was no child trafficking being treated as bare defilement case. Though I did not get any child trafficking cases, I realized that I was more meticulous and knew what exactly to look out for unlike previous relevant duties in the same courtroom. Secondly, the case management techniques helped immensely in the carrying out of duties in the courtroom as a judge. The knowledge gathered for case management allowed me to better schedule cases by discussing time allotted for specific cases with both parties.  My knowledge from the training better allowed me to know how to go about trauma informed practices during hearing of cases. The importance of sitting arrangement of parties in chambers for such cases as well as the importance of considering the expert testimony in cases.

The RTC is encouraged by these success stories to continually allocate time and resource to support women in law enforcement through training. Write to us at info@westafricartc.org and share your success story. We look forward to hearing from you.